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  Discussion on Bandage Bow?
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New Member:
smiles

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 - 1:03 am:

Hi-
My mare got an inch-long cut that was very thin, like from a wire, on the front of her right hind pastern at the base of the cannon bone. It a tiny wound, but it was hard to tell how deep it was, its right on the joint, and my mare has healed poorly from other injuries to her lower leg, so I called the vet out and he did not stitch it, but gave it a pressure wrap which he told me to leave on for 4-5 days and then have him back out. So I did, and he rewrapped on a Monday and told me to leave it on until Saturday. I have been schooling myself not to fret over things, and certainly not to second guess my vet...but the bandage seemed tight. I took it off a little early on Friday, and there were lots of lines from the bandage. The leg was swollen the next day. Today is Tuesday, the leg is still swollen and it almost looks like a bowed tendon. A bunch of hair fell out where the top of the bandage was. I would be figuring some exercise and cold hosing would fix the problem and that it was not a big deal, but then I read about "bandage bows" in one of my books that suggested this pressure damage actually hurts just like a bowed tendon...my mare already has fibrotic myopathy in this leg, so it is hard to say if she is any more off than usual...it did appear to go down after exercise.
Should I be concerned? What would be the best way to take care of this?
Sarah
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 - 8:54 am:

Hello Sarah,
If I understand your post right, currently the swelling has come down and there is no apparent increase in lameness in your horse so the only abnormalities are the hair loss and the healing cut. If this is so I don't see much to worry about but you should consult with your veterinarian on this. In the mean time I would treat the cut as we recommend in the article on long term wound care.
DrO
Member:
sswiley

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 - 10:44 am:

The hair loss makes me think of some sort of skin irritation.
I have a mare that has very sensitive skin and I can not put any kind of betadine, furasin, or any even mild astringent under a wrap. She will get blistered skin, even loose her hair. Pressure bandages quite often leave "wrinkled skin" especially if left on for days. This does not necessarily mean a bandage bow.
I am sure cold therapy will not hurt with either possibility.
New Member:
smiles

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 - 11:23 am:

Hi-
Thank you for responding to my post.
I believe the hair loss was from the wrap, there was no other substance in that area besides gauze...although she is a very sensitive Arab, you are quite right.
My mare's leg is still swollen, especially around the joint, I just meant to indicate that the swelling decreased after exercise (as opposed to increasing or not responding), mostly around the long tendons down the back of the cannon bone.
I guess my question is, is a "bandage bow" really anything like a "bowed tendon" or does it just kind of look like it? Is it actually the tendon that gets inflamed, or the skin and other tissue (of which I realize there is not much down there!!)
Whether my mare actually has that condition or not I realize cannot be diagnosed from the distance...
I am curious to know about this kind of reaction to bandaging and how to care for it.
Thanks. I love this website,
S
Member:
image

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 17, 2007 - 10:05 pm:

Hi Sarah!

Yes, that sounds very familiar although the circumstances leading to it are different. When Image was a baby she developed contracted tendons at about 3 months of age resulting in a bilateral check ligament desmotomy when she was 6 months old. She had to be kept pressured wrapped for about a month after the surgery and only handwalked for exercise. I did exactly as instructed and when the wraps came off, About 40 minutes after removing the wraps, I literally watched her legs "bow" then I freaked and called the vet. He said it was a normal result of being wrapped for a long time and that her legs had gotten used to the support but would return to normal with cold hosing and more handwalking. He was right! It took about a week to get rid of all the swelling and the bowed look. She was never lame from it and today is a normal, healthy 7 year old mare with nice straight tendons! I hope this helps ease your mind but of course, call your vet if you think she is in pain.

Our best to you and your mare!
Charlayne
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 18, 2007 - 6:30 am:

Sarah, the amount of damage that can be done with a bandage varies and it is possible to damage a tendon and /or tendon sheath with a bandage but that is uncommon unless there has been a thin area of constriction in the bandage. More common is Charlayne's experience above where when tissues are reperfused following removal of the bandage results in edema forming. This may be do to changes in vascular hydraulics the take time to readjust to the new conditions or do to inflammation from dermal areas with minor damage from the bandaging.

Whether to use hot or cold hosing would best be determined by the temperature of the swelling when compared with the opposite leg. If the swelling is hot, I would suggest you cold hose it. If it is the same temperature or cooler, warm water would be best. Use enough pressure with the hose to massage the leg. For more on this see Diseases of Horses » Skin Diseases, Wounds, and Swellings » Swellings / Localized Infection / Abscesses » Diagnosing and Assessing Swellings in Horses. As for treatment see Diseases of Horses » First Aid » Pressure Wraps, Poultices, Cold and Heat Therapy for Swelling in Horse Legs.
DrO
Member:
majoda92

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 7:09 pm:

I need some professional advice to give to one of my teen-aged boarders about wrapping legs. She has a 5-yr old TB off the track who had some very serious leg injuries over a year ago. He is lame most of the time, but she still "rides"(another subject completely!) him lightly. She likes to sweat his legs almost every night. Sometimes she just poltices them. Tonight she put a sweat on, with a thin quilt and a thin bandage, and then she put duct tape around the top, just below the knee to keep it on. I expressed my concern that the duct tape has no give to it, and on such a thin wrap, it could cause some problems. She pretty much just ignored me and left it on, so when she left I took the tape off. Am I just being a control freak? I have seen horses really get injured by bad leg wrapping, and this poor colt has enough problems already.
Diane
Member:
36541

Posted on Tuesday, May 22, 2007 - 10:26 pm:

Well, if she injures the colt, it usually will end up involving you for his care and maintenance, so I can see your point as the barn owner. If she really resents you changing his wrap, she may leave over it, and could try to poison your water(reputation) in the community. Could you con a neutral person to offer some suggestions to her re her technique? Is there another boarder she seems to respect available so you could avoid the teenage power struggle? You can always go passive-aggressive and be amazed at what a Houdini her horse is because he has adjusted his wraps every morning! Best of luck, I think you barn owners have a really tough job... caring for horses and being a psychologist to their people!! Stacy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 7:54 am:

Hello Diane,
Whether you are being overly critical is hard to say since we cannot examine the bandage itself. Certainly duct tape over a thin bandage around the top of the cannon does have one potential problem no matter how well put on: if the leg swells at this point the bandage will constrict the leg. The top of the cannon is not as prone to this as lower down the leg however and I do see this commonly done with thicker "pressure type" wraps.

The most important point here is you share some responsibility with what happens to this colt and you perceive a risk. If this makes you uncomfortable you could try drawing up a document stating your concerns and that you are not responsible for what happens and, with a upbeat attitude and smile, have her sign it. If she is under the age of consent, consider having the parents sign it. This does two things:
1) It really drives the point home in a non-confrontational manner.
2) It may absolve you of responsibility (this would need to be discussed with a lawyer).

If you lay awake worrying about this and cannot get the young lady to change her ways consider giving her notice to leave with that same upbeat cheery attitude.
DrO
Member:
canter

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 8:07 am:

Another thought is to call the girl's vet and enlist the vet's help in proper care/wrapping for the horse. I'm assuming with a lame horse that the vet is out on at least a somewhat regular basis and can spend some time with the teenager hopefully before any permanent damage is done.

Good luck...while I've found that the vast majority of teenagers adore their horses and will do their best to care for them, I also have a teenager currently boarding at our barn who is very unconcerned about her horse's care. It drives me nuts and gentle hints, enlisting the help of a friend, advice of the trainer...nothing works with this kid and if I was her parent, the priviledge of a horse would have been taken away a LONG time ago.
Member:
smiles

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 11:50 am:

Hi,
Lots of good ideas here...one thing I notice is this girl is taking the time to do what she thinks is best for the horse, so it occurs to me that some more education would really serve her and all her future equine companions well. So many people get unreceptive to info because they can't stand the idea they've been doing anything wrong or don't know it all....it's not just the teenagers I fear!! It takes the horse breaking down for them to finally ask for advice. I like the idea of enlisting an adult/trainer/vet there that she respects who could teach her the best way to care for her horse's lameness issues. Another idea would be to get a vet or pony club teacher or someone to come give a first aid clinic at your barn and teach some bandaging techniques and give some dos/don'ts. Even if the girl didn't come, you would no longer be alone in observing the problem... I talked about this idea with my vet and she was very enthusiastic because if people knew a little more her job would be easier!
Removing the duct tape after the girl leaves is alas, only a temporary fix and might cause her not to trust you, and then you won't be able to help at all. I wish my barn manager was as thoughtful as you!
S
Member:
maggienm

Posted on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 - 11:59 am:

I agree with Dr. O As this girl is underage it will be her parents who will decide what action to take if things go really bad.

I would first write down the points I want to make, no more than three, more is a lecture.

To stay non-confrontational you might start with something like, "I have a concern I would like to share with you", if they are non-horsey and try to refer you back to the girl you can remind them that as barn manager you need to talk them as she is underage.
Try to stick to the one issue of the leg wrapping, have a solution, (the vet(or other qualified) will come and show how to wrap correctly.
Perhaps you could organize a leg care evening where multiply types of wrapping and reasons for using are explained and demonstrated. At that time the person doing the talking (not you)could address other issues like when to use sweats and poultices.
The expense of hosting will be small compared to the emotional upset, maybe losing a boarder or worse.
When trying to share a piece of information with someone I have had success by first asking if I could show or tell whatever.
I hope things turnout well.
Member:
majoda92

Posted on Thursday, May 24, 2007 - 8:07 am:

Hi everyone! Thanks for the responses to my concern. Actually, shortly after I posted my concern here, the girls mom called me from the barn. She had stopped out to see the colt, as she does most nights, and was also concerned about the way he was wrapped, so she took them off herself. The family regularly brings out a fellow who takes care of horses at the track, and was actually very involved with this particular colt when he was on the track. He comes to our barn to check on him, and works on his legs. He has tried to teach Lauren how to take care of his legs, and how to wrap them correctly. She doesn't seem to get it. Her mom says she is going to have him come out again soon, and really lay it on the line about how to do it. Fortunately, the mom is really hands on about his care, even though she is not really a horse person. She is a nurse, so she does understand some of the concepts of bandaging. She has given me permission to step in whenever I feel something needs attention. That is a real bonus in this situation. She readily admits that Lauren is very head-strong, and doesn't like to take advice from anyone. We will keep plugging away at it!
Thanks again!
Diane
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